TOWER POWER

Developer plans two highrises for 104 Street lot

An Edmonton company wants to build a major two-tower residential development on a gravel parking lot south of Jasper Avenue.

Langham Developments Ltd. is looking at putting up about 600 units with balconies in two phases along 104 Street near 100 Avenue, according to a public presentation Tuesday at the Edmonton Design Committee.

The project will be set back from the street on a two-storey podium over underground parking, architect Stephen Boyd told the committee, which reviews development applications and gives recommendations to the applicants and the city.

The podium will have retail space that might provide outside patios to liven up the street.

Boyd later declined to comment on how tall the buildings will be or give any other details about the scheme.

The land will need to go to city council for rezoning before the project can go ahead, although no timeline for a hearing was provided.

Langham, which has signs at the property describing it as a “future highrise development site,” says on its website it acquired a downtown development site at the end of last year and intends to announce what’s happening this summer.

The company ’s previous projects include the 28-storey and 33-storey Fox Towers condominiums about two blocks north on 104 Street, which finished construction last year.

It was also behind the nearby Icon Towers, slightly taller and containing a total of 273 units.

Company officials could not be reached for comment, but Downtown Business Association executive director Ian O’Donnell said in an interview he’s pleased to learn about the planned development.

“We’re excited about the continued expansion of the residential population in the downtown. We see that as a critical piece to making our streets more vibrant and our businesses more successful,” he said.

“This is a great location and we will certainly welcome a few hundred new residents downtown.”

Although critics have complained Edmonton has too much city-centre land devoted to surface parking lots, O’Donnell said he wants different choices for parking.

“We want to make sure there’s a variety of parking options downtown, but we want a higher and best use of the land.”

This is a great location and we will certainly welcome a few hundred new residents downtown.

LARRY WONG Architects Stephen Boyd, left, and Brad Kennedy give a presentation Tuesday to the Edmonton Design Committee about Langham Developments’ proposed residential towers at 100 Avenue and 104 Street.